We appreciate the enormous support that our ABestWeb community has experienced over the many years it has served its members and sponsors. We have decided to exit this business and have placed the property up for sale and we are actively entertaining interest.

In the meantime, community members will be able to read but not post to ABestWeb beginning on Jan. 18.

We want to thank you for your numerous contributions and your ongoing support. If you have any questions, please let us know.

I can't help but wonder what the agenda will be and who will be covering what topics. Of course I had to speculate a bit here and was wondering if the agenda would look anything like this:

1) COC
1.1) Enforcement of the COC (or lack of it) as well as discussion regarding lack of procedures and forms for sharing of data entry concerning violations.
1.2) 60 days how long is that really? You really don't want to know .

2) Diversions Update
2.1) What CJ and other networks are doing to protect against affiliate theft while allowing dumb merchants who choose to be charged commissions for users that go directly to their sites, go to their sites from search engines, go to their sites from their emails or go to their sites via their own ppc ads. Ugggh Nothing!
2.2) steps being taken to allow merchants dedicated to be parasite free - just that. Ugggh nothing!

3) CJ Improvements - what are we doing to make non parasitic affiliates less effective (oops I meant more easily diverted from - ooops I meant to say more effective).
3.1) The cj bot and the real truth about who is using it and the data gathered from it.
3.2) Reporting and Tracking Features - what features we are taking away next.
3.3) Ebates will finally be removed from the home page login as a featured success story but... will be replaced by topmoxie.

4) Open House with Open Bar (courtesy of topmoxie, ebates, whenu, gator, sahs, and finally "huntbar")

It is expected that sections 1, 2 and 3 will not be covered in detail and should last approximately 5 minutes each (enough for introductions and to say we are not responding). The real fun and business deals will be gained from session 4 where you can strike up special deals and get all kinds of perps from the sponsors.

I wonder how close I am in my speculations?

For those attending please ask the hard questions and let us know what the answers are. Many are "dying slowly" to know.

===============================PeePee merchants with PooPoo policies allow our earnings to be flushed down the crapper.

This pre-conference seminar provides an overview of performance marketing fundamentals for both publishers and advertisers. Plan to attend this class to learn or review the key program components that drive success in pay-for-performance marketing. Topics covered include program implementation strategies, best practices, and a tour of the Commission Junction Account Manager 6.0 for advertisers and publishers.

5:00 - 8:00 PM Welcome Reception at Commission Junction

Join the Commission Junction staff and fellow attendees for an open house at our Santa Barbara headquarters. This is a great opportunity to greet old friends and colleagues or meet new ones. Shuttles for guests to and from our office and the DoubleTree Resort will be provided. First shuttle will leave the DoubleTree Resort at 4:45 PM from just outside the main lobby. Drinks and appetizers will be served. Dress is business casual.

Jeff Pullen will present his views on our industry and Commission Junction’s 2003 corporate strategies. Commission Junction measures success by the quality of our network and services, and the results we achieve for our clients. In this session, Jeff will show how these goals guide us toward our vision of becoming the online marketing solution provider of choice.

From her unique perspective, Tiffany Shlain will explore the evolving world of high technology, revealing how the Internet has changed the way we live and work. She will uncover the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and provide insight into the smartest ways to do business online in the future. Tiffany will share proven best practices, her take on online business models that work and what we can expect to see on the Web going forward. In this keynote presentation, she will introduce her concept of "The Blueprint for a Better Web," posing the questions you should be asking as you continue to develop your business online, and you will leave with tactical knowledge for improving your e-business.

Commission Junction’s technical and service solutions are designed to accommodate the evolving needs of our market and capitalize on opportunities presented by industry progress. Join Elizabeth in this exciting session for advertisers and publishers, where she will share her views on our market and how Commission Junction is positioned to offer clients advanced online performance-based marketing solutions that will continue to meet the needs of your company.

11:00 - 11:15 AM Break

11:15 - 12:00 PM General Session

The Success of Search and Where It Is Headed
Paul Schulz, Senior Vice President, Marketing and General Manager, Online Business, Overture

Online marketers are rushing into search marketing in droves in an attempt to capitalize on this effective tool, but not everyone has the knowledge they need to drive results. Whether you already have a strategy in place or are just beginning to learn about search marketing techniques, in this session Overture’s Paul Schulz will provide essential information about the market — why search has moved to the forefront of online advertising discussions, where the industry is headed, and how Overture will help to shape search marketing’s future.

In this session advertisers will learn from a Commission Junction advertiser account development manager and a product manager key strategies to improve their program management practices, and specifically how the Web-based interface, Account Manager 6.0, was developed to support those techniques. You will leave this session understanding how item-based commissions can diversify your publisher offering, the benefits of segmenting your publisher groups, and how to best use the creative options supported by the Commission Junction product offering.

Publishers, in this session you will learn from a publisher account development manager, together with a product manager, specific strategies for developing your performance-based marketing initiatives and specifically how the Web-based interface, Account Manager 6.0, has been developed to support those tactics. You will leave this session learning about how to reconcile your monthly payments, utilize creative offerings available through the interface, and manage your online relationships effectively.

In a recent article, Lisa Riolo of Commission Junction wrote, “Few Internet marketing techniques have been as widely adopted as search marketing and affiliate marketing. While both have proven to be effective advertising strategies, Web publishers are now merging them into a powerful but controversial method for driving online results by jockeying for top search engine placements with advertiser’s affiliate marketing links alongside those same advertisers. Advertisers engaged in performance-based marketing are left to decide if these publishers are undermining their branding and search marketing efforts or providing a valuable service.” Attend this panel moderated by Jupiter Research analyst Gary Stein as they answer the question – Can search marketing and affiliate marketing co-exist?

Join these online marketers as they discuss the current state of online creative — What trends do they see emerging as big brands and traditional advertisers continue to enter the space and users begin demanding more interactive experiences? Are online marketers being encouraged to keep it simple as evidenced by the high conversion of text-based ads? And, what about pop-ups — thing of the past or here to stay?

Broadening your perspective of publisher success beyond their performance in the current campaign you are running is essential for the long-term success of your pay-for-performance program. In this session, we have teamed up Jeff Ransdell, Commission Junction account development manager, with advertiser Jon Moises from Quicken Loans to outline techniques for developing strong publisher relationships that will stand the test of time. Learn how performance incentives, regular communication, motivation and commitment to your publisher relationships can position your program for greater success.

In this session, Scott Olrich and Brendan Hart will detail the importance of content development for your email campaigns. Learn optimal planning and scheduling for email communications, how to develop an editorial calendar, ideal timing and content for newsletters and seasonal campaigns, and the best practices that you should always keep in mind when using email marketing.

In its eighth year of business, eBay is not only one of the most popular shopping sites on the Web, it is also one of the most successful Internet companies. How do they do it? Join Jeff Housenbold in this keynote presentation as he shares eBay’s strategic vision and how his team applies best practices across multiple marketing channels to leverage the success of each, thereby achieving spectacular results across the board.

Alum Darnel Moore returns to CJU and shares key findings from his past year. Having designed and implemented a strategic online marketing plan focused on results, Darnel illustrates the benefits of building and managing strong publisher relationships, executing critical and suggested best practices, and integrating solutions for other online marketing initiatives into your pay-for-performance efforts.

Learn from an industry leader. LookSmart boasts an extensive distribution network featuring top portals, search engines and ISPs. One of LookSmart’s key differentiators is its editorial review of advertisers’ search submissions. This approach generates highly relevant content, which leads to qualified traffic and strong conversion rates. Discover LookSmart’s evolving strategies and how it successfully works with performance-focused businesses of all sizes to drive results.

Many well-established brands achieve their success by carefully building and managing the brand over a long period of time. Along with strong positioning and messaging, the best brands also adapt to the changing markets and marketplaces. Join Carol Steinberg as she discusses the importance of brand, the move to online marketing, and working with other brand owners across multiple channels. Carol also shares insights on how to build incremental revenue and leverage, but not depend on, brand recognition.

The best marketers research, develop and test their ideas for developing a new audience before launching a campaign. A great advantage that online advertisers and publishers have over their offline counterparts is that the research, development and testing phases are conducted with a lower investment of time and money. Grow your audience and your business by following the same basic steps as offline marketers but with greater efficiency. This session provides tips and techniques for identifying and promoting to a new audience and suggestions for better campaign optimization.